


On The Borderline

by PrinceSkylar



Series: Taking Care Of Things [10]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Anxiety, Bad Dads, Bonding, Comfort, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Issues, Friendship, Growing Up, Kiba is a good boy, Kiba wants to learn medical jutsu, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nostalgia, Other, Tsume is a good mother, slightly awkward coming out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 15:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15318483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSkylar/pseuds/PrinceSkylar
Summary: Ever since he came home the thoughts about the future and where he would end up had been circling his mind over and over. And...not really in a suffocating way. More like, they came like the tides. Rising in the middle of the night, or sometimes in the middle of the day, and faded when time passed and left him alone again. The thoughts were just heavy enough to remind him that they were important but not heavy enough to leave him terrified in their presence.He thought a lot about the future."There's...something I've been thinking about." He admitted finally, bringing an awkward hand up to rub at the back of his neck as he exhaled through his nose. He looked back to Temari to take in her thoughtful gaze, inwardly glad that she didn't seem upset. "I have to talk to Kakashi...and my mom and sister, too, before I decide on anything. I can't really give you an answer right now. There's some things I'm taking care of...but I promise you that hurting your brother will never be in my plans. I love him with...all I have. I might not deserve him, but I love him, Temari. I really do."The hardest choice is finally here, but maybe it was easier than Kiba expected it to be.





	On The Borderline

**Author's Note:**

> I LIED. Okay I said this would be the last chapter for this but I lied. Turns out when I wrote it, it ended up way longer than expected so...there's one more part after this chapter. I'm so sorry. But! Thank you guys for being so patient! My new job and my on and off wrist injury has made it really hard to sit and write as much as I want to so thanks so much for the patience.
> 
> Anyways, I think it's rated T mainly for some language and slight hints and sexual acts but that's it. It's mostly Kiba lost in thought and coming to terms with...a choice. What choice? Read and you'll find out.

Kakashi's office looked the same as when Kiba had left, but he couldn't stop from feeling like a stranger in it. He looked around a little bit, eyeing the open window for a moment. The sky was blue, with cotton-like clouds dotting it here and there. It was possible it would rain soon. Rain...rain sounded like a nice thing, maybe. Rain was always enjoyable...as long as he was inside, though. As rough and rowdy as he was he didn't really like mud a whole lot, especially ever since Akamaru got bigger and bathing him became more of a task than a fun activity. Rain was great for the land but it was murder on Kiba's patience. But after all the heat he endured, he supposed rain was a welcomed surprise.

Exhaustion had sunken down into his bones, making it feel like it was weighing him down as he stood in front of Kakashi's desk. The man was looking over the letter from Gaara while Kiba waited patiently, though Kiba would admit that being patient was...quite a task for him at the moment. He was tired, dirty and worn down from their journey back, and all he really wanted to do was go home, take a shower, and sleep for three days. He wasn't really sure if he'd even be able to do that, though. His mom and sister were bound to want to talk to him and he had so much to tell them...about Kenzo and about Kankuro, too. Rest didn't sound like it would be a friend to him today. But dear god did he want to sleep, even if he was mostly glad to be home finally.

 _Mostly_. Now that...was quite the realization, wasn't it? This entire time he'd been sure that once he was home he would be nothing but happy and relieved. He was sad, for obvious reasons, but he just felt...odd. Out of place, maybe, like he hadn't been home in years.

"Well, Kiba," Kakashi spoke up, ripping Kiba out of his thoughts. "It seems Gaara was very fond of your presence in Suna. I'll admit that when Sakura told me you needed the information for this particular journey I was a bit hesitant. It wasn't my place to say anything, but Kenzo was never...the best person. I knew him...sort of well, I suppose. But he's your father and I didn't have the heart to try and stop you when you seemed so set on it." He folded his hands on top of his desk, head cocked to the side. "Gaara's letter only said it didn't go very well. Are you alright?"

Kakashi was always...a good guy, in Kiba's mind. Kiba had always sort of looked up to him, though he figured most of them had. All of their teachers from back in the day were people they all looked up to. It was hard not to, after all. But it always sort of took him by surprise when teachers that weren't Kurenai expressed concern over his well being. It was like he couldn't really understand why they'd be so worried about him when he wasn't anywhere near as important as Naruto or Neji or the others. All part of his inferiority complex, he was sure. It was touching that Kakashi had been worried about him.

As touched as he was by the hokage's concern Kiba couldn't help but feel just a little uncomfortable with it, though. He didn't want to talk about his dad anymore. Not right now, at least. Not until he talked to his mom and sister first. "I'm alright." He said after a moment or two. "Honestly...my dad wasn't even the most emotional thing I had to deal with while I was there."

"Yes, I heard." Kakashi mused. Kiba was sure that behind that damn mask, he was smirking a little. He couldn't help but be vaguely unnerved by the fact that Kakashi was aware of his love life so suddenly. "I'm sure you've had quite the trip. Don't let me keep you; I'm sure you want to go home. Your mother's been worried sick about you since you left. You should head home and rest, Kiba."

"Thanks." Kiba nodded and turned to leave before he paused, sucking in a breath before he looked back to Kakashi. "Thank you for...letting me do this in the first place, by the way. My dad...sucks, but the trip itself was...good. I needed it. There's still some things I'm figuring out now but...if you hadn't let me go, I don't think I'd be...happy. Because I am happy, even if it doesn't look like it right now." There was probably more he could say but the words got jumbled up, so he decided not to say anything else. He knew Kakashi got the message either way.

Kakashi sat up straighter and nodded; Kiba was sure he was smiling. "You're welcome, Kiba. Now head on home and rest; you look like you really need it."

He didn't need to be told again. He waved to Kakashi one more time, a soft smile on his lips, before he made his way out of the Hokage office. The moment he stepped outside, he and Akamaru took a second to breathe in deeply. Despite how cool it was in Konoha, it almost felt...weird to suddenly be free from Suna's near suffocating heat. After all the times he'd been praying to return back to the cool air of Konoha, he just felt a little out of place now. The air was different. The weather was different. Even the way he walked here was different. Spending time away from home did that to people, he supposed.

He was a little surprised he hadn't ran into anyone yet. Sakura was normally always in the Hokage's office with Kakashi, especially with her inauguration lingering on the horizon. She was probably with Ino, though, now that he thought about it. It was fairly early in the morning still; he was sure they were tangled up in bed together, fast asleep. He half expected to run into Shino or Hinata, but he had to remind himself that Shino had studying to do now and there was a chance Hinata was either on a mission or at the Hyuuga household. Naruto was usually running around too, but...well, he could have been out doing anything by now. Maybe Kiba just missed his friends and was eager to see them. Everyone had lives, though, and he had his own things to take care of now that he was home, too. Checking in with Kakashi was done and now it was time to go home.

He didn't get very far, though. He was half way down the street when he was yanked around and crushed into a hug, the air being squeezed out of his lungs. He winced, choking out a startled, "Lee!"

Lee let go of him just as quickly as he had thrown his arms around him, his grin brighter than the very sun in the sky. "Sorry, I saw you and got excited. I'm glad you're back!"

Lee really was a breath of fresh air, if Kiba were to be entirely honest. He always had a smile for anyone and everyone and he was easy to talk to. He was someone Kiba loved to talk to even though they didn't get much time alone together lately. He honestly couldn't stop himself from smiling at the other. "I'm glad I'm back, too. Were you heading somewhere?"

Lee nodded a little bit. "Yes, I was going to meet Tenten and Neji for morning training. Neji got sick while you were gone, so he wants to try and get back into the swing of training now that he's feeling better."

Kiba nodded as the both of them fell into step again, Akamaru shoving his nose into Lee's arm until the other man relented and started petting him. Kiba snickered softly. "Well, I'm glad Neji's feeling better. Tenten probably got sick of nursing him back to health."

"Oh, you have no idea." Lee scoffed, pressing a rather sloppy kiss to Akamaru's already wet nose. Then he was grinning at Kiba once more. "Aside from that, though, you really haven't missed much. It's been pretty quiet, save for all the preparations for Naruto and Sasuke's wedding."

"I'm actually kind of glad I haven't missed much." Kiba admitted with a sigh, running his fingers through his dirty hair. Missing too much would have made him feel..different. In a way he wasn't sure he knew how to explain. Speaking of weddings...

Kiba glanced over at Lee again, arching an eyebrow curiously. "Did you get a letter from Gaara recently, by the way?" He was prying, he knew, but damn it he'd been in the room when Gaara mentioned wanting to marry Lee. He was at least a  _little_  entitled to a little bit of prying.

Lee blinked in surprise and went to open his mouth, but the look on Kiba's face had him blushing and quickly looking away. He smiled, just a little bit, and let out a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. "I did, actually...I'm assuming you know what was in the letter?"

"Maaayyybe." Kiba grinned wider, nudging Lee in the side with his elbow gently. "Do you...have an answer for his question, maybe?"

"I...ah, jeeze, I don't know." Lee breathed softly, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "It's a big thing to think about, you know? I...I wasn't expecting him to just flat out ask me that. Marrying the Kazekage...there's so much going into that..." He bit his lip before he jerked his head in Kiba's direction again. "No one else knows, by the way, so you can't tell anyone! Not even Tenten and Neji know yet! It's a secret until I decide on my answer!"

Kiba had a strong feeling Lee's answer would be yes. There wasn't a single reason why Lee and Gaara getting married would be anything but great. They were both serious about each other in a way that was touching and used to make everyone else just a little envious. Getting married just...sort of sounded like the logical solution for them at this point. Like it was just what they were supposed to do. Kiba nodded, though, relenting. "I won't tell anyone, I promise. The only one that knows aside from me is Kankuro."

"Good..." Lee nodded slowly, eyeing him for a second before his own playful smirk tugged at his lips. It honestly scared Kiba just a little bit. "Speaking of Kankuro...Gaara kept me updated on you two in between our...serious talks. It sounds like you had  _quite_  the trip."

Lee was always quite the gossip and it never ceased to amaze Kiba, really. If there was even an ounce of gossip about someone in the village Lee knew about it one way or another. It was as funny as it was terrifying, really. But it wasn't much of a surprise that he knew about Kiba and Kankuro, anyways. Lee was the one person he knew he didn't stand a chance at hiding the information from. He still blushed, though, and cleared his throat as he averted his gaze. "Yeah...you could say that..."

Lee snorted and slung his arm around Kiba's shoulders, shaking his head a little. "Gaara said you two danced around your feelings for days before you finally did something about it. It's cute, though. You two would make a nice pair."He reasoned casually, as if he'd been thinking about Kankuro and Kiba shacking up for ages, now. And considering how he and Gaara were...Lee had probably been hoping they would get together just as long as Gaara anyways. Not much of a shocker. "I won't tell anyone, by the way. The only one that knows is me, I think. And Temari."

"And Kakashi." Kiba added with a soft chuckle, shaking his head. "It's...fine. People can know. It isn't something I planned to hide. It's just...kind of a mess right now, I guess."

"A mess?" Lee echoed, leaning closer to Kiba as they walked. "Why is that?"

"It's...the distance, I guess." Kiba replied. He kind of hated how easy Lee was to talk to, now that he thought about it. Or maybe he just hated talking about his own feelings to other people. That...made sense, too. "We...We're both not good with it. I almost called our relationship off entirely for it. And he's worried the distance will make me...decide it isn't worth it. We both have issues that we just have to work on, I guess." He looked to Lee again, frowning. "You and Gaara having distance issues definitely didn't give us much confidence."

Lee looked apologetic for a moment, a sigh slipping past his lips as he nodded slowly. "I can imagine so...but you know, the distance wasn't an issue right away. It...I mean yeah it was a bit of a bummer to only see each other once a month, or every few months...but it helped us cherish those times we had together. It kind of made it feel like it was...teaching me patience. We both needed it to be that way. Gaara...you know how he is." He murmured,voice going softer. "He needed the space for a while. He wasn't used to being...loved the way I love him. I wasn't used to...loving carefully and slowly. I throw myself into everything head first so the distance was okay for a while. But...it's been years and...I know we're both at the same point. Just...him wanting to marry me...blows my mind, I suppose."

Lee looked at Kiba again, grinning softly. "But you shouldn't base your relationship on ours, Kiba, Everyone is different. You're the kind of person that loves...very hard. There's no shame in admitting that the distance is hard for you and that you prefer to be...there." He murmured and really, Lee was a whole new level of sweet that was almost hard to handle. His hand came up to Kiba's shoulder, squeezing. "But don't push yourself, either. If this distance keeps being an issue it's something you two have to talk about and figure out. You both can't suck it up and deal with it if it makes you both bottle up your feelings. You two might be better off with the distance eliminated."

Lee had a point and it made Kiba want to bury himself into the ground. It wasn't like Kiba didn't think this was going to be hard, obviously, but for Lee to tell him that it'll be a challenge...well, it just didn't make Kiba feel very confident. Not that Lee was trying to discourage him, of course. Lee was only trying to help because he  _knew_ exactly what Kiba was dealing with. "Are you just our resident love teacher or something?"

"Not really." Lee chuckled as he shrugged. "Only for Tenten and Neji on the rare occasions when they need a mediator. Considering how stubborn the both of them are, it's awful."

"I bet." Kiba had  _no_ trouble imagining that. Tenten and Neji were both so stubborn that it was down right ridiculous at times. "Is Hinata in the village by the way or is she off on a mission?"

"She's here." Lee chirped happily. "I saw her yesterday. I believe she stayed the night at Ino and Sakura's along with Temari. Shino should be at the academy getting started on the studies he needs for his goal of becoming a teacher. Everyone's here in the village."

Kiba nodded a little bit. "That's good...I need to see Hinata and Shino. Probably tomorrow, though. I'm...drained. Plus I think I just want to be home with mom and Hana today...considering I have to tell them how my whole trip went." That was going to be draining all on its own, really. He couldn't handle retelling his adventure twice in one day, he was sure.

Lee hummed softly. "You have to tell them about your dad." He agreed quietly. "That must be something you're anxious about. I wish you luck with that, Kiba. I'm still sorry it didn't go very well. But perhaps it was for the best?"

It was for the best, if you had to ask Kiba. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind about that. Sure, at first he felt like it had been a wasted trip...but he did more than confront his dad in Suna. He sort of confronted himself, if he wanted to be entirely honest. And that...well, that was definitely for the best. He felt just a little more comfortable in his skin, all anxiety pushed aside.

Kiba shrugged. "...It Probably was." He admitted as he nodded just a little. "If you see Shino or Hinata any time today let them know I'm back, will you?"

"Of course!" Lee assured, his grin almost blinding. "I'll be sure to tell them to give you today to rest, as well, so they don't show up unexpectedly today or tonight while you're resting."

Yeah, Lee was an absolute sweet heart that put everyone else to shame. A true gem of Konoha.

Kiba had to scoff and shake his head, slinging his arm around Lee's shoulders. "You are an absolute angel and I hope Gaara knows how lucky he is to have you."

"Oh, trust me," Lee shrugged, a rare and devious smirk on his lips. "He knows."

They both started laughing, Kiba vaguely wondering why they didn't spent more of their free time together lately. He made it a mental note; spend more time with Lee for gossip, advice, and just some good laughs. Yeah. That sounded nice, now that he thought about it.

They parted ways sooner than Kiba would have liked, but he waved to Lee and let Akamaru erratically lick at him a few more times before they headed towards their own home. Akamaru was practically buzzing with excitement at his side, eager to get home once again. Excited to be home and see his mate and pups again before Tsume finally shipped one of the pups to Suna for Itaru and his daughter, Yasuki. He'd have to have Kankuro keep an eye on that family for him. Though he kind of wished Suna had some sort of...Dog-nin master or something. Yasuki seemed more than eager to train with a dog beside her but that took time and patience and skill and if you didn't know how to do it...well, it was hard.

He shook his head a little, trying to banish those thoughts. He didn't want to think too hard on Suna right now. Dad bullshit first and then he could drown in...well, whatever thoughts came his way. He was too tired to work himself up too much anyways. He wanted to be home already, curled up in his bed and sleeping away the fatigue and the sadness that had made home in his bones.

Seeing his home up ahead after walking for what felt like ages made Kiba smile softly and he stopped, just standing there to admire it for a second. As sad as he felt to be away from Suna, coming home was always...good. Felt good, at least. Kankuro wasn't here, sure...but Hana and their mom and all the dogs were and that was okay. Home was...home. Even if he'd felt at home in Suna...

He shook his head again and sighed, rubbing his face. "Come on, Akamaru. Let's go."

The first step into the house sent a wave of comfort through his body, but it was short lived as Akamaru sprinted past him, nearly knocking him over in the process. Kiba screeched, barely managing to steady himself, and then huffed loudly as he kicked off his shoes in front of the door. "Don't be rude, Akamaru!" But Akamaru didn't care; he already disappeared down the hall.

From the kitchen, Kiba could already hear his mother and sister's surprised voices as Akamaru most likely barreled into the kitchen at full speed. It was mostly laughter from his mom and sister, and as Kiba made his way down the hall he braced himself, pausing for just a moment to listen.

"Akamaru, you know you're not supposed to run in the house!" Tsume scolded, but Kiba could hear the smile in her voice. She wasn't angry at all.

"He's excited to be home, Mom." Hana insisted, probably already going at Akamaru with some good belly rubbing. She laughed a little bit. "I didn't think Kiba would get home this early in the day. He's probably exhausted." She added, just soft enough for Kiba to still hear.

Just hearing their voices made Kiba's body relax even more, like some of the stress and exhaustion had been lifted from his shoulders for just a little bit. He always forgot how used to his mom and sister's presence he was and how quick he always was to miss them. Being gone always reminded him just how much he loved them. His younger self might have been a bit embarrassed but now, he was more than happy to admit it. He walked into the kitchen without any more hesitation, offering both women a tired smile when their eyes fell on him. "Hey. I'm home."

"And you look like crap." Tsume scoffed. To anyone else it might have sounded a little harsh but Kiba could hear the relief and affection in her voice. It was the same tone of voice she used almost always, a rough sort of affection that only he and Hana could hear the love radiating from. She walked over to him and pulled him into a hug and even though Kiba was taller than her now, he suddenly felt like a little kid all over again. "Welcome home, son." Her voice was softer, warm, and for just a second Kiba felt all of his anxiety wash away.

He hugged her just a little tighter then, pressing his face into her shoulder and inhaling her scent, a scent he'd adored ever since he was a baby. He stepped back after a moment, clearing his throat, and nodded a bit. "Thanks...sorry I was gone a little longer than expected."

"Don't worry about it." She assured him, her hand ruffling his hair a little bit before she looked towards Akamaru. "Kiba, why don't you go shower and clean up while I take Akamaru to his pups? He's gotta say goodbye to the one I picked out for Itaru and his daughter." When she looked back at him, Hana was watching him too, and both of their gazes were firm and knowing. "Once you're cleaned up I'll have something made for you to eat and then we can talk about it. How's that sound?"

He knew it was stupid to be nervous about this. He knew that neither Hana nor their mother were angry at him. Hana had been curious as he had been too and unless she stated otherwise, she wanted to know what Kiba had found out. But the thought of upsetting them both crossed his mind again and he felt his palms grow sweaty once more. He nodded, though, and forced up a small smile in response to his mother. "Yeah, alright. That sounds good."

He watched his mom lead Akamaru away and sighed, finally looking over at Hana. She was leaning against the counter, arms crossed over her chest as she looked him over. She was smiling though, soft sort of smile. A relieved smile. "Good to see you back. Mom was starting to get a little riled up over you being gone. Don't tell her I said that, though."

Kiba snorted softly. "I won't." He assured, glancing in the direction their mom had gone in. "How's her...mood?"

Hana blinked, momentarily confused, but she smiled a little bit. "Don't worry about that. She's fine. She really wants to know how the trip wen and so do I. We're both curious." she pushed away from the counter to walk over to him, her hand ruffling his dirty hair gently. "Are you worried that whatever you found out is going to ruin our days?"

"Sort of." He admitted, gently pushing her hand away despite how good it felt. "It most certainly ruined my day, after all. My whole week, actually."

Hana's smile faltered and she sighed a bit, nodding. "Well...think of it like this." she said softly, taking a moment to think her words over. "I...think you're very brave for doing what you did. For going. I told you before that I wanted answers, too...but you had the courage to go that I didn't have. So it's okay if what you're going to tell us isn't nice or great or anything like that. It's still answers...and that's all we've ever wanted. We won't be angry with you."

Kiba's eyes widened a little bit and this time, when Hana's hand ruffled his hair again, he relaxed into her touch and sighed softly. "Thank you..." He breathed, feeling like the stress had suddenly slipped away.

"You're welcome." She replied quietly, before she was gripping Kiba's chin and jerking his head up. Kiba yelped, trying to swat at her, but he froze when his sister gasped, scandalized. "I  _knew_  those were hickies I saw! You have  _so_  much to tell us, little brother."  _Damn it, Hana_.

With a loud groan Kiba yanked away from his sister's hold, blushing scarlet red as he covered his neck with his hands. "I'm going to take a  _shower_  now if you can wait to harass me." He huffed, turning on his heel and blushing even harder as his sister snickered loudly behind him.  _Great_. Of all the things for Hana to be hyped for...Typical, though. She used to always pester him about dating.

The hot water of the shower drew a hiss from his lips and he groaned softly, letting the hot water rain down on him as he ran his wet fingers through his hair. Sure, it kind of sucked that Hana knew he had done something with someone, but a part of him was a little relieved. He found it kind of hard to even be angry, really. Maybe a little exasperated, sure, but not angry or upset. But he was home and Hana and his mother were happy to see him. They  _wanted_  to know what had happened, not just with his dad but with the entire trip and...well, maybe it was because he was taking his first hot shower in three days, but Kiba almost felt happy enough to cry. Almost. Most of his fears had been crushed just by his sister's words alone and sure, he knew he would get anxious all over just from talking about it but...he knew his mom and sister supported him.  _Loved_  him.

Though, he was a little nervous to admit that his relationship was with  _Kankuro_. Tsume and Hana had only met Kankuro the few times the puppet master had slept over at their house, and those had been fleeting encounters. A couple of awkward early morning breakfasts. One awful evening when Kankuro walked Kiba's overly drunk ass home and had to explain to Tsume just why he had dared Kiba to take that many shots...

Basically, they only knew parts of Kankuro. The parts that weren't the best for first impressions. Not that Kiba was embarrassed, because he wasn't. He could never be embarrassed of Kankuro or being with him but...he never really...had the chance to bring the person he was in love with home with him. This was new territory and he was just worried how his Mom would react more than he was worried about Hana. Tsume Inuzuka was protective of her children and Kiba could very clearly remember times when Tsume had tried to scare off some of Hana's earlier romantic interests...

Not that Kankuro could be easily scared off by Tsume, though. Which was...endearing, really. Kiba supposed this was just something he was going to have to take step by step...even if each step made his anxiety suffocate him.

After his shower Kiba felt refreshed and like all the sand and dirt from his body and hair had finally gone away. Thank god for that, really. He pulled on sweats and an old t-shirt, drying his hair with his towel before he finally made his way back to the kitchen. He could smell food before he even go there, frying eggs and vegetables that made his mouth water. He sat down at the table across from his sister, pointedly ignoring the salacious smirk Hana wore in favor of watching his mom cook. It was a really mundane and...motherly task that most people always had a hard time associating with Tsume. She was so bold and loud and full of spirit that most people had a hard time remembering that she was a loving and devoted mother, even if she used some tough love here and there. But Kiba couldn't help the swell of warmth that bloomed in his stomach as he watched his mother cook for him. He felt like a little kid again, happy and full of joy that Mom was home again to take care of them.

"Enjoy your shower? You smell better." Tsume cackled from the stove, finally looking over her shoulder to smile towards her son. "You look better, too."

Kiba cracked a small smile. "Yeah, I feel way better." He assured. "It's nice to be home. Is Akamaru outside still?"

"Yep. He's all curled up and asleep with the pups and his mate." Tsume assured with a nod, reaching down to shut off the stove. "I decided to ship out the one girl pup we have to Itaru and his daughter."

"Really?" Kiba cocked his head in surprise, blinking in surprise. "I thought you wanted to keep her though, and breed her when she's older."

"I did...but Itaru's daughter is young, yeah?" Tsume asked as she made her way across the kitchen to get some plates. "She's gonna need a dog that can look out for her...females are fiercely protective of their packs, after all." At that, she flashed Kiba a grin. "So I think the female pup is a good call. Who knows? Maybe those two will grow into a fierce team in Suna together. Just a shame Suna doesn't have any nin-hound masters to help his daughter along."

Kiba nodded slowly, glancing away as he let his chin rest in his palm. "I know. I was thinking the same thing, really. They have a nice shelter there, though. It's a clinic and a shelter all in one, and they really care about their dogs." He shifted his gaze to Hana. "When they found out you made the dog flu vaccine, Hana, they told me they're really thankful and everything. You saved their dogs' lives."

Hana's eyes widened in surprise before her expression softened, her smile tugging gently at the corner of her lips. "Well, I'm glad...That vaccine is my life's work so far. It's saved so many dogs and I'm glad."

Tsume had a smile on her own lips as she placed plates of food on the table for all of them, sitting down next to Hana. "Always told you two that you'd do great things, didn't I? All it took was some hard work." She said, her grin full of pride.

Kiba snorted softly, but didn't say anything as he started eating. They were all silent for a while and Kiba knew it was because they were waiting for him to start the conversation. How was he supposed to do that, though? How was he supposed to dive into the topic of his horrible dad and his wonderful boyfriend? No words could come to mind as he chewed slowly, savoring the taste of his mother's food, until he mentally groaned to himself in defeat. He didn't have to be classy or professional about this, right? There was no need to worry about wording. So he set his things down, reaching for a glass of water and taking a long, satisfying drink, before he fixed his gaze on his mother.

"He's an absolute dick and you were right about not getting my hopes up." He said finally. Tsume was surprised, to say the least. An eyebrow arched slowly and Kiba averted his gaze, pushing his food around on his plate with a fork as he let his words sink in. God, he wished he was more tactful with words. Like...Gaara, or maybe like Hinata.

Tsume set her fork down and scoffed, nodding slowly as she leaned back in her chair. Her arms crossed over her chest, a sign that she was ready for something serious. "I hate to say I told you so, but...I told you so." She murmured, sighing. "So how did meeting him go?"

Kiba shrugged a little bit. "Like...I spent the first half of the trip freaking out about what to say to him. And about what he might say back...but I still wasn't ready for it. He knew I was an Inuzuka the second he opened his door, obviously..." He made a gesture towards his own facial markings. "But when I told him my name he just...got all stiff. Like he was afraid. He let me in, though...he wasn't...he wasn't rude or anything."

Tsume scoffed, a scowl on her lips. "That man doesn't have enough of a back bone to be rude-"

"Mother." Hana cut in gently, shaking her head. "Kiba's talking."

Tsume blinked before she nodded, her scowl turning into an apologetic smile. "Right...right. Sorry, keep going Kiba. What did he say?"

Kiba hesitated as he fought to place his thoughts. He had to lean back in his chair after a second, lip caught between his teeth as he eyed his mother and sister. They both looked patient. Tsume even looked worried, like maybe she was worried Kiba would cry or something. He glanced away and finally cleared his throat, his thoughts now better aligned. "He told me that you two grew up together...you were best friends?"

Tsume seemed surprised, though Kiba couldn't tell if it was from his words or from the fact that Kiba wanted her input. He wanted her to engage in this. She nodded slowly, her patient smile now a small, slightly uneasy frown. "We were. Practically joined at the hip. He was a weak little thing that always needed to be saved from bullies."

"Yeah, he said that, too." Kiba smiled slightly, glad that so far what his dad had told him about he and his mother had been right. That was good. His smile didn't last very long, though, knowing what he was going to say next was...a lot more serious and touchy. "He told me you were young when you had Hana...and that you two weren't married when Hana was born. Or when I was born, either."

Hana looked shocked at their mother's side, her head whipping around to look at Tsume. "You and Dad weren't married? Ever?" When their mother shook her head, Hana scoffed softly, a small frown on her lips that sort of made Kiba nervous. "You never told me that."

"You never asked." Tsume pointed out, though her tone was hesitant. Like she was worried they were mad at her. She averted her gaze and sighed, a hand coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose as she seemed to think her words over. "No, we weren't married. It didn't...seem like a big deal with I got pregnant with you. We were always together so it practically felt like we were married already so I wasn't that worked up about it. Your grandfather was the one that was so caught up on the idea at first because it looked bad on the Clan for me to have a baby and not be married to the baby's father." Again, their mother's expression shifted, turned to something sadder...something Kiba didn't like.

"But by the time Kiba was born I...started thinking about how nice it would be to call Kenzo my husband." She said quietly, her voice laced with a type of exhaustion Kiba hadn't heard in years. "I didn't want to be in my forties and still calling the man I loved my  _boyfriend_  so I told him we should get married. He got all freaked out and we couldn't stop fighting all the time. I didn't even know what the big deal was until he told me he wasn't...in love with me anymore. I mean you can't just fix things from that. Here was the guy I've been in love with since I was a little kid, who I had my children with, telling me he didn't love me. There was no way for us to fix that..."

Kiba didn't like hearing his mom sound so defeated and upset, not after all the years he spent hearing his mom sound so tough and cynical about his father in the past. It really bothered him knowing how in love with this guy his mother had been...how much heart ache she hid from them. He almost wanted to go right back to Suna just to punch Kenzo int he face for the sake of his mom.

He watched Hana lean over and hug their mother gently, an action that Tsume accepted with a small smile, leaning into Hana and turning her head to kiss her daughter's cheek. "It's alright, I'm fine."

"Still..." Hana sighed softly, shaking her head. "It sucks seeing you upset." She murmured with a frown on her lips, hands now folded in her lap.

"God, that's exactly what I was thinking." Kiba groaned as he rubbed his face, before he looked at his mother. "I'm...glad he wasn't lying about all that, though. That's pretty much what he told me, too. All of that just...didn't sit well with me. It really upset me."

Hana was looking at him again, nodding slowly. "It probably would have upset me, too." She admitted, giving Kiba small smile. "What else, though? I know what questions you had for him, so what did he say?"

Kiba sat up a little straighter as he thought back to his meeting with his dad. Luckily, he could remember the conversation despite how many emotions had spewed out of him during and after it. It still felt fresh in his mind, like he had the talk not even a few hours ago. "I just...asked him why he didn't come back or try to see us. I guess I was hoping he had some sort of good excuse but I was just getting my hopes up. He had every chance to come see us, especially after Gaara became the Kazekage. He just..." He sucked in a breath, trying not to get angry all over again. There was no need to get angry.

"He told me he...he loved us but he never wanted to be a young father. He wanted to figure himself out and he tried to be there for us but he was really unhappy." He said slowly, frowning to himself. "It just...drove me crazy. He left because he didn't want us to get caught up in fighting or anything but...he never made any attempts to come see us and that's why I just can't be okay with any of it. He didn't send any letters...didn't come and try to see us even once, or let us know we mattered to him. He tried to insist he loved us and we were a blessing but he didn't...care enough to come see us. I couldn't even pretend to be nice to him after he said all of that..."

Kiba trailed off, frowning down at the table, not wanting to look at Hana or their mother. He almost felt like he was going to cry but he mustered up all of his energy to keep from doing so, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. But the silence that followed didn't last long at all.

"Fuck him then, right?" Hana scoffed, arms crossed as she leaned back in her chair. It...sort of took Kiba by surprise. Between the two of them, Hana had way more attachment to their dad. He didn't expect her to be so...nonchalant. "Sounds like he's a loser. Anything else he said?"

"Not...really." Kiba admitted slowly, before he blinked and glanced at their mom. "He's married now, though..."

Tsume snorted loudly. "Good." She murmured, shrugging. "About time he settled down. Whoever he's married to can _keep_  him." She didn't look angry like Kiba thought she would be, though. She looked relaxed, if anything, and all of a sudden Kiba felt so stupid for being so afraid to tell them these things.

Kiba seemed to relax entirely then, leaning back in his chair and finally managing a soft, gentle smile. "So...I didn't get the answers I hoped for but I got the answers I needed. Meeting him was...a let down. And he's kind of a shit person but his lack of effort to be in our lives isn't going to bother me anymore." He decided. "I was raised by an amazing mom and an amazing sister and I wouldn't trade that for anything else."

"Jeeze," Hana glanced away with a small smile on her lips, her foot nudging Kiba's under the table. "You're such a sweet heart. But...I'm glad. I was really worried about you. I'm glad you're feeling...the way you're feeling. Like you're better than the way he made you feel. It's important. So I'm glad you found all of that out and told me...Now I can get over it, too."

"I'm glad, too." Tsume murmured, making both of her kids look back at her. She sighed softly, rolling her shoulders in a small, defeated shrug. "I know there were some things I should have told you both before...like us not being married and everything. But I hated talking about it back then and...well, by the time you two got older it was just so far out of mind that I didn't want to bring it up. I'm sorry. I am. But...I'm glad you did this, Kiba. That you found all of this out on your own...and I'm sorry if it hurt for a while. But your sister is right; it's good that you feel better than how you felt before."

Kiba wanted to tell Tsume that she didn't have to apologize; they understood and weren't angry. But he didn't get the chance too. Tsume was suddenly leaning forward, reaching across the table to jab Kiba none too gently in the neck, right over where he knew one of those  _damn_  hickies were. "Now enough about your father," she said, her smirk turning feral. "And let's talk about where  _that_  came from."

Kiba's groan was over powered by Hana's loud, cackling laughter, and Kiba wanted to slump down to the floor and never get back up again. Leave it to  _both_  Hana and Tsume to be that observant. Although, he would admit that at least now the conversation had shifted to a topic that didn't make him want to hit something, which was good. Really good, actually, considering he hated being in a bad mood. But how the  _hell_  was he supposed to talk about his relationship with his mother and sister?

"So," Tsume chimed in, that feral smirk still on her lips. "Who's the lucky girl?"

 _God Damn it_.

Kiba found himself scowling for a moment before he relaxed again, letting the expression fade.  _Obviously_  they weren't going to care that it was a guy. He already knew that. But talking about his relationship that was still so new to them...left him feeling a little nervous. He shifted in his seat a bit, eyeing his over eager mother and sister, before giving up with a small and defeated sigh. "It isn't a girl, for starters."

"Then who's the lucky guy?" Tsume didn't miss a beat, undeterred by her son's words. Which...was the best sign in the world, really. The eager glint in her eye didn't dwindle and by her side, Hana looked  _twice_ as curious as before.

Kiba suppressed a groan, chewing on his lip for a second before he cleared his throat. "You guys remember Kankuro...the...Kazekage's brother?"

"Of course." Hana nodded, before her eyes widened. She gasped, slamming her hands down on the table in surprise. "You're dating  _Kankuro_?"

Kiba nodded a little, blushing hotly under his sister's suddenly delighted gaze. "Yeah..."

"How did  _that_  happen?" Hana wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him, grinning wider.

Kiba blushed harder, if that was even possible. "It uh...it's a really long story. But he's my boyfriend. And we're...we're going to try really hard to make this work. I've never..done this before. And it's going to be hard for us both with the distance between us but...we want to try and make it work." Even now, though, just talking about Kankuro made Kiba's heart ache with need.

Hana's eager expression had softened as Kiba spoke, turning into something more calm and content. The atmosphere was less intense now and Hana leaned back once more, nodding slowly. "That's great. I didn't get to talk to Kankuro much the few times we met, so next time he rolls in he's getting the full big sister interrogation."

Kiba wanted to groan and at least act like he hated the idea, but the mental image of Kankuro being interrogated by Hana was just too amusing. "Hana-"

"He treats you right?" Tsume cut in, drawing both of her kids' attention to her. Her expression was...unreadable. It made Kiba anxious all over again. "He isn't a jerk? Doesn't bark at you or make you do anything you don't want to do? He treats you right?"

Kiba almost wanted to laugh but he didn't want to laugh  _at his mom_. It was just kind of cute how serious she was all of a sudden, ready to fight if Kiba told her Kankuro didn't treat him well. It was endearing, really, and he loved his mom so, so much. He nodded slowly, letting a small smile tug at the corner of his lips. "Of course he treats me right, Mom. He...treats me better than anyone else ever has. Like...I'm some sort of prince to him or something."

"That's what I care about, then." Tsume nodded firmly, finally allowing herself to smirk. "I get to have a talk with him once he rolls in too, by the way."

"God." Kiba shook his head to himself, trying to keep himself from smiling too wide. Poor, poor Kankuro...

"Do you think the distance won't be an issue once you get into the swing of things?" Hana chimed in, resting her chin in her palm as she watched her brother curiously. "Once you get back on your feet and go about your missions and stuff again, I mean."

"I...don't know, honestly." Kiba admitted, reaching for his drink and taking a sip. "I...almost called it off before I left Suna because I know how I am. But...we want this to work. So we're going to try our best."

"Always good to try." Tsume agreed softly, looking thoughtful as she eyed her son. "If it becomes too much of an issue you can just always move to Suna, anyways."

That made Kiba pause, eyes widening a little bit in shock from his mom's words. It wasn't like it hadn't crossed his mind a couple of times, but not...not as a serious option. But for his mom to suggest it so casually had him stunned into silence, unsure of how to feel. "Wouldn't...you miss me?" He asked slowly after a moment, finally able to find his voice.

Tsume's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Of course I would." She assured him with a nod. "But I also don't want to keep you from someone you care deeply about. I'm not kicking you out or anything, Kiba, relax. I'm just saying that...it's an option. And if it's something you decide to do then you can always come back home, anyways, if it doesn't work out."

Well that was...better than Kiba thinking his mom wouldn't miss him. so that heart attack was averted, thankfully. He relaxed a little bit more, his mom's words feeling sort of comforting. Like he'd been hoping to hear her say them even though he knew he wasn't. Which...was weird. But he filed that information away for later, wanting to put this whole conversation to rest. "He'll be coming to Konoha with the Kazekage for Naruto and Sasuke's wedding. So you guys can interrogate him all you want when he does."

"You bet your ass we're going to." Tsume scoffed as she finally stood up, gathering their dishes they were done with. "I'm glad, though, Kiba." she paused to look at him and this time her smile reminded Kiba of his childhood, those early mornings when he'd wake up to see Tsume had gotten home early from a mission and was making them breakfast. "I'm glad you found someone to love. You deserve all the love in the world."

"Ah, jeeze, Mom," Kiba glanced to the side, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand as he felt his face heat up. "Don't embarrass me..."

"I'm your mother; embarrassing you is my _job_."

"That's the worst excuse ever." Hana stood up with a small smile, gesturing for Kiba to follow her before she headed for the hall leading to the back door.

Kiba stood up and watched his sister go for a second, before looking back at his mother. Her back as to him as she got started on the dishes, most likely already lost in her own little world. The sight itself made Kiba smile a little as he strode across the kitchen to catch his mom by surprise, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Thanks again...for letting me go and do all of that. The trip...really helped."

Tsume blinked a couple of times before she scoffed, gently shoving him. "Good. I'm glad. It's good to have you home again, Kiba. Now go on, before we both get all sappy and emotional."

Kiba left the kitchen with a small chuckle, slowly making his way out the back door and looking for his sister. He found her underneath one of the trees, laid in the grass with an arm thrown over her eyes to block out the sunlight filtering in from between the branches. Kiba smiled a little bit as he sat down next to her, ripping a handful of grass free from the ground before sprinkling it over his sister's face. "You look comfy."

"Always am." Hana retorted, moving her arm away from her face and chuckling as she wiped the grass off of herself. She turned her head to look at Kiba properly, her smile more hesitant now that they were alone. "I didn't want to say too much in front of Mom but...I'm glad it was you who went and not me. If I had been in your position and had him say all of that to my face...I probably would have punched him."

"Oh, believe me, I wanted to." Kiba murmured softly, shrugging. "But I really didn't want to start any more issues. By the time the conversation ended I just...really wanted to get away from him."

"I bet." Hana nodded, propping herself up on her elbows. She sighed a little as she looked up at her brother, finally shrugging. "I think I'm upset."

Kiba flinched, the guilt already trying to claw it's way up his throat. "Hana-"

"But it's normal to be upset over something like this." Hana added quickly, trying to soothe her brother's worry. "It would be weird to  _not_ be upset. You know? I'm upset but...I'll get over it. It's like...an old scab got picked at and I just have to wait for it to heal all over again. It's not a big deal. I'm just...angry. But having those answers helps a lot."

Well...Hana wasn't crying which was...good. But she also had a point. As anxious as Kiba had been to finally tell her all of this, knowing was for the best. Hana wasn't as vocal about it as he was, sure, but she had questions and for Kiba to give her those answers after ages of wondering was a blessing. Kiba just hoped his sister could put her own negative thoughts and curiosities to rest finally and maybe handle it better than he himself did. Not that he would mind if Hana cried, just...seeing Hana cry always messed Kiba up a little bit.

With the silence that fell over them feeling far too comfortable to break, Kiba fell onto his back in the grass and gazed up at the tree branches above him. He was home, surrounded by his family, yet Kankuro was miles away in the desert, probably thinking about Kiba, too. Being home didn't feel like it used to and that realization scared him in a way he couldn't even comprehend.

* * *

"Can I paint Akamaru's nails again?" Hinata looked at him from her spot in the grass, sprawled out with Akamaru's paws in her delicate hands. When she met Kiba's gaze she smiled softly. "I have the dog safe kind of nail polish with me."

"It sounds like you'd paint his nails no matter what I say." Kiba scoffed without any real venom in his tone, leaning back into the tree he was sitting against. "Is it pink? He really liked the pink color you gave him last time."

"No, it's purple this time." Hinata admitted as she sat up, one hand shaking grass from her long hair while the other dug around in her bag for the nail polish. She pulled it out and opened it slowly, her grin widening as Akamaru wiggled closer and flopped his giant paws in her lap. "Oh, see, he likes the purple! I'll bring the pink next time, though."

Kiba snorted softly and lazily looked at Shino, lying in the grass propped up on his elbows. Kiba had been home for a week by now but this was the first time he had left his house. Hinata and Shino had come by on his second day home, buzzing with joy and curiosity as they made home in Kiba's room for that night. Kiba never minded sleep overs, of course, but telling them about his trip had been jarring. The news about his dad had left both of his friends looking more let down than anything else, like they were upset that their hesitations on Kiba's trip had been right. But they didn't pry too hard, had even veered the conversation away from his dad and to better things, like Gaara and, of course, Kankuro. Coming clean to them about dating Kankuro had given him a bit of an adrenaline rush. He was excited to tell them because he knew they would be excited for him. Excited had been an  _understatement_. They were both over joyed, asking questions and begging for details well into the early hours of the morning.

It felt really good, though. Kiba had always been the one listening to every one else talk about their partners which...he didn't mind before. But being the one gushing about his  _own_ partner...it felt really nice. A little embarrassing when he mentioned some of the more explicit details of his newfound sex life, sure, but it was fun to gush with friends. They didn't look like it, but Shino and Hinata absolutely  _adored_ hearing about other people's love lives. Kiba was pretty sure that it being  _his_ love life in particular made them extra excited.

They were at their old training grounds now, sprawled out in the grass after some early morning training that Kiba had been dying to get done, to try and work all of the extra energy out of his body. Tired and content now, he reached out to jab his finger into Shino's cheek, drawing a hiss of mild irritation from the other's lips.

"Kiba," Shino swatted his hand away, a small scowl on his lips. "Don't poke me."

Kiba snorted in response, letting his hand drop into his lap. "You've been quiet."

"Kiba, I'm always quiet." Shino snorted right back. He sat up though and stretched, crossing his legs and lazily looking over at Kiba. He wasn't wearing anything over his eyes, his eyes looking Kiba up and down before he scoffed. "Don't tell me you want to start sparring again. We just did for three hours."

"Nah, man, nothing like that." Kiba assured with a dismissive wave of his hand. He looked back at Hinata and Akamaru, a small smile on his lips as he took in their serene nature. The gentleness of Hinata's hands as she painted the dog's nails. The patience of Akamaru. Beautiful, really. "How's the academy stuff coming along?"

Shino shrugged at bit at his side. "Decently enough." He muttered, idly tugging at a few blades of grass. "I have a lot more studying to do before I'm ready but I'm on the right path to becoming a teacher. It's tedious, but I'd rather make sure I do it correctly so I can be a good teacher."

Truthfully, when Shino first mentioned wanting to be a teacher Kiba had been a little hesitant. Shino was pretty okay with kids, sure, and he was smart...but teaching just didn't seem like something he would be into. However, he could have said the same for Hinata, who was aiming towards becoming a jonin soon and had some high hopes of becoming ANBU. Both of his friends had goals that had caught Kiba by surprise the first time he heard of them, but he was still overly supportive. He just hoped being a teacher didn't drive Shino crazy because, well, kids can be little monsters sometimes.

"I'm sure you'll be an awesome teacher." Kiba assured him, reaching out to pat the other's shoulder affectionately. "With you as a teacher and Hinata as an ANBU, you guys are gonna be one smart and bad ass couple."

Hinata laughed from where she was listening, shaking her head a little bit. "Shino will be a teacher way before I become an ANBU." She murmured, looking over the paint job on Akamaru's nails before reaching for his other front paw, humming thoughtfully. "But it'll be exciting. Neji says he's considering it as well. ANBU always jump at the chance to have Hyuga in their ranks. My dad still doesn't think I should do it, but who's he to tell me what to do?"

If there was one thing from after the war that Kiba would admit to loving, it was Hinata's ability to finally knock her dad off of his pretentious pedestal. Kiba could write several essays on just why he wasn't the biggest fan of Hinata's father, most of which revolving around Hinata's god awful self image back when they were younger. Maybe he was just overly critical of fathers, but making your oldest child feel like she wasn't worth a thing just because she didn't learn as quickly as other's was shitty. Hinata was  _so_  fucking smart and brave and adaptable and Kiba didn't have enough words to explain how much he adored and admired her. When the war had ended, she and Neji had made it their own goal to finally dismantle that awful branch family and main family issue with those damned seals they put on the branch family. It wasn't Kiba's fight to fight, but he was over joyed when Neji and Hinata had finally broken the news that the awful sealing custom was done and over with for good. Hinata had a lot more freedom and confidence since then...which was why Kiba was supportive of her dreams to be in the ANBU. The stronger Hinata felt for herself, the better.

The presence of more people made all three of them look over and Kiba broke into a grin as he watched Sakura and Ino make their way over to them. Kiba waved to them eagerly, flashing a fang exposing grin when the two young women sat down with them. "Good morning, Miss Future Hokage and Miss Future Hokage's girlfriend."

Sakura flushed a bit as she snorted, rolling her eyes a bit as she tucked her legs underneath of herself. "Good morning to you too, Kiba. Were you guys sparring?"

"Yeah, we just finished up about half an hour ago." Kiba replied with a nod, grinning. "What are you two lovely ladies up to?"

"We just got done helping Sasuke decide on where he and Naruto are going to go on their honeymoon." Ino sighed dramatically, leaning heavily into Sakura. She preened, though, when Sakura's arm slid around her. "It was cute, but very tiring. Sasuke wanted it to be perfect even though Naruto would be fine with anything."

Hinata giggled softly. "Sasuke just wants the perfect wedding for Naruto. You know he likes to show Naruto off as often as he can." She reminded them. She was, after all, almost an expert on their relationship now that she and Naruto were such good friends.

"They  _both_  do." Sakura agreed with a fond smile, laying her head on Ino's shoulder. "The wedding is coming up so fast, though. Naruto's so excited about it."

"Everyone is." Shino chimed in, lips curling into a more affectionate smile. "It's about time they got married, anyways. Everyone's excited for it."

"Speaking of weddings," Sakura gasped suddenly, capturing all of their attention. "Did you guys hear Gaara proposed to Lee?" There were practically stars in her eyes.

"Lee told you?" Kiba asked in surprise. He certainly hadn't told anyone, that was for sure. Then again he hadn't left his house in a while and wouldn't know if Lee had told anyone anyways.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. He was over with Neji and Tenten when we were all hanging out at Naruto and Sasuke's house. He said Gaara asked him to marry him. Isn't that cute?" she sighed softly, clasping her hands together.

"That's  _late_." Ino groaned softly, sitting up as she brought her hands up to adjust her ponytail. "I figured Gaara would have proposed way sooner. It's still cute, of course, but I was hoping it would be sooner."

"Is Lee going to say yes?" Hinata probed, tilting her head a little bit. She had finished Akamaru's front paws and had moved to painting his back paws now. "I mean I don't see why he would say no but still. Did he say he was going to say yes?"

Sakura nodded excitedly. "He did! He said he was going to send his reply today and tell Gaara yes. I'm really happy for them; they've always been so good together."

"That means Lee would be moving to Suna in the future then, right?" Shino stretched his arms above his head, his shoulders cracking a bit. "That's going to be a bit of a change. More for him than us, of course, but even so..."

"I mean it would suck that he's gone." Ino agreed with a small and curt nod, before she was leaning heavily into Sakura again. "But he'd be with the man he absolutely loves and adores so he'd be happy. Plus...Lee loves Suna. He adores that village."

"It isn't that bad of a village." Kiba found himself chiming in before he was able to stop himself. When all of their eyes turned on him he blinked and huffed, averting his gaze to instead examine his nails. "What? It's true. It's a nice village! It's a little hot but it's great and the people are great."

"The people are great, huh?" Ino snickered, smirking mischievously at him. "I hear their puppet master is pretty  _great_. Is that true, Kiba? Is he pretty great?"

"Oh my god." Kiba buried his face in his hands with a groan. The only down side to letting Shino and Hinata tell people who he was dating was that, well, everyone knew who he was dating. Ino was notorious for teasing Kiba until he was a flustered mess and now she had actual good material to work with. Kiba peeked out from between his fingers to glare at the woman that just grinned right back at him, before he dropped his hands into his lap with a huff. "For your information he's  _very_ great, yes."

Ino cackled, pressing her face into Sakura's shoulder to try and muffle the noise. "Man, Kiba." She looked back at him, amused. "It's about time, honestly. He's been pining after you for so long that it drove me crazy every time he came to town. You two are both really hot, too; you're a good pair. I'm happy for you, but I'm going to tease you as much as I can about it."

"He's coming with Gaara to the wedding, right?" Sakura chimed in softly, much to Kiba's relief. "It'll be nice to see him, yeah?"

"Yeah, it will." Kiba agreed and even though he had seen Kankuro just days ago, the thought of seeing him again made his heart skip a beat. "My mom and sister totally want to interrogate him though." He added, trying to make sure he didn't sound like he was knee deep in his swooning.

"That's normal." Sakura agreed, nodding. "I mean if we didn't all already know Kankuro as well as we do, we'd probably interrogate him, too. We have to look out for you, after all."

Kiba felt stupid when that comment made him want to cry so suddenly. He knew they were all friends...but to hear he was important enough to their group that they would interrogate his boyfriend in the name of his honor? It was sweet.

"Oh, have you talked to Temari yet?" Ino asked suddenly, eyes widening a bit. "Shit, Lee hasn't either, I think. Man, one brother is getting married and the other is dating Kiba and they haven't told her yet..."

Kiba wanted to panic. Temari was scary. Wonderful...but scary. Kiba didn't even consider how he'd go about telling her and he couldn't just avoid her...but maybe he would be in less trouble than Lee. Lee was the one marrying Temari's youngest brother. That, Kiba figured, was a bigger issue to tackle than Kiba dating Kankuro. He hoped, at least. "I'm sure she knows. But I'll talk to her myself eventually. Before the wedding, of course."

"You'd better." Ino agreed gravely. "You know how she is about her brothers. She likes you and Lee, though; I'm sure if anything it'll just be a very light and moderately scary conversation."

Kiba snorted softly as he leaned back against the tree again, rolling his shoulders in a shrug. "It's worth it anyways, if it means I get her blessing to keep dating her brother."

Kiba didn't quite expect the chorus of "awww" that followed, promptly making him blush scarlet as he hid his face in his hands again. "God, you guys are  _awful_!"

"It would be worse if Naruto were here. He'd be yelling about how happy he was for you non-stop." Sakura reminded him with a grin, before she was reaching forward to place her hand on Kiba's knee. "It's good to see you back home again, by the way. But I'm really glad Suna wasn't all around awful for you. You got a boyfriend...got laid...all that fun stuff."

"All thanks to you." Kiba reminded her gently. "You were the one who got the files for me and sweet talked Kakashi into letting me go." He murmured softly. He kind of wanted to hold her hand and for that he blamed Kankuro; the puppet master made him a lot more sentimental than he was before he was in Suna, that was for sure.

Sakura blinked in surprise before she smiled sweetly, a smile that made it easy for Kiba to see how Ino fell in love with her. "It was my pleasure. Anything for a friend, Kiba."

Kiba felt a little selfish for taking such pride in being called a friend. It wasn't like he'd never been called a friend before.

* * *

Temari was, for lack of a better word, absolutely terrifying at times. Growing up in Suna had made her tough and not afraid to speak her mind no matter who was around which was, in a way, just as admirable as it was scary. However, she was a special kind of scary when she called you to her house in the middle of the day, asking if you'd like tea before you got to the "real reason" she called you there. Kiba and Lee felt this fear first hand, sitting on one of the couches in the living room while they watched Temari pour their tea. They both glanced at each other, knowing full well what this conversation was going to be about.

And it had only taken until Kiba's second week home for this day to come. Naturally, he hadn't been  _avoiding_ Temari. He just...never had much of a reason to seek her out yet since he'd gotten home. Lee, on the other hand, had been avoiding Temari with all he had. Kiba could respect that entirely. Lee, unfortunately, was weak to Temari's scare tactics which was almost humorous when he was dating Gaara who was a whole new level of scary sometimes. Temari knew Lee had been avoiding her, too, because when she had asked Kiba to come over she had made sure to tell her to bring Lee even if he was  _kicking and screaming_. So, yeah, this was a little awkward. Although Kiba was pretty sure Lee was going to get the worst of Temari's big sister talk.

Temari handed them their tea and Kiba murmured a soft "Thank you," as he took his, taking a sip. He watched Temari lean back into the couch across from them, one leg crossed over the other. Her hair was down and still damp from her shower and Kiba was pretty sure she was wearing one of Shikamaru's shirts. When her eye caught his Kiba blinked and offered a small smile, setting his tea down carefully. "So-"

"You both know why you're here," Temari cut in slowly with an arched eyebrow. "Right?"

Kiba nodded quickly. "Yeah...because we...both didn't tell you about the...developments we've had with your brothers...?"

Temari cracked a small smile, revealing that she probably wasn't as angry as they assumed. "Mostly." She replied, looking at Lee. "I mean I'm mostly a little mad at you, though. Gaara sent a letter telling me he had proposed to you, but it arrived a few days after his proposal letter to you. I'm going to be honest and admit that I'm...a little hurt you didn't tell me right away. Tenten and Neji and Kiba knew, and then suddenly a few days later everyone's talking about how you're saying yes and you still hadn't told  _me_ anything."

"I understand that completely!" Lee assured rather quickly, setting his tea down and sighing a little bit. "Just...from what I know, it caused a small fight between Kankuro and Gaara when it was finally brought up and...well, I was worried it might do the same between Gaara and yourself. I didn't want to say something that would cause a fight between you two; I know how close you and your brothers are, Temari; I'd never want to mess that up."

Temari's expression softened a little bit and she sighed, reaching for her own cup and taking a sip. When she set it back down she shook her head. "We are close." She agreed. "But it wouldn't have started a fight. I'm not like Kankuro. He's...a little more insecure than I am about where he stands in people's lives. He prefers to have the people he loves close to him so that way they don't forget him or over look him. That's why me moving here before was such a big choice for me. I knew he'd be...upset, but I also knew he still had Gaara and that would keep him sane. I think Gaara telling Kankuro he was ready to get married just threw Kankuro's big brother side and his insecure side into over drive."

Her eyes darted to Kiba while she spoke, but Kiba already knew all of this. He knew the reasoning behind...a lot of Kankuro's actions, though he wasn't about to start bragging about how much he knew about Temari's brother. He just nodded and averted his gaze to watch Lee shift nervously.

"I'm not mad that you're marrying Gaara." Temari clarified finally. "In all honesty I think it's great. He's...really blossomed into himself more ever since the two of you became a couple. You know as well as I do how hard some things are for him...but if he really think he's ready to get married then I believe him. And I support you both, Lee. But...do be aware that if you hurt him or break his heat I'll have to hurt you."

"I know that." Lee assured nervously, fists clenched in his lap as he glanced down for a moment. "It's...assuring to have your blessing, Temari. I promise that I'll never stop loving your brother. And I'll never hurt him. Ever. I'd have to be a fool to do so."

Temari's lips curved into another small smile before she heaved a small sigh. "You and Gaara are such saps, I swear...does that mean you'll be moving to Suna, then?"

"Yes, and it'll be very soon actually." Lee told her, making Kiba's eyes widen in surprise. When Lee glanced at Kiba and saw his surprised look, he smiled sheepishly. "We're...a bit eager to get married. I told Gaara that when he comes for Naruto's wedding, I'll be returning to Suna with him. I've...already started the paper work with Kakashi so I could have dual citizenship in here and in Suna..."

That was...unexpected. Well, maybe not. It was common sense that Lee would move to Suna, but so soon? Kiba had figured they were going to wait a little while longer...but he could imagine how eager the two were to get it done and official. It would probably be an amazingly grand wedding, too, when theirs finally rolled around.

Temari, just as surprised as Kiba, managed a small nod as she thought it over. "That's...great then. Saying goodbye to everyone will be a little bitter sweet, but moving isn't really that scary when you do it with someone you love." Her smile widened a little bit, her fingers coming up to gently tug at the collar of the shirt she wore. Shikamaru's shirt. "It makes it easier when you're moving in with someone you want to always be with...it's comfortable."

Something in Kiba's gut heaved, like he'd been punched. He frowned and glanced down at his own lap, lip caught between his teeth in thought. He didn't have long to dwell on those thoughts, though, because suddenly Temari was talking to him again and this time her voice was firmer. "And what about you, Kiba?"

"What about me?" Kiba echoed as he looked back up, cocking his head.

Temari eyed him. "What are your plans now that you're dating my brother? You're both too old to be dancing around anything and just being some sort of fling...are you serious about him?"

Kiba's eyes widened as he sat up straighter. "I've never been as serious about anything else in my life as I am about your brother, Temari." He said slowly, frowning. "I wouldn't have started this with him if I wasn't...serious."

"Good. That's what I was really hoping you would say." Temari looked relieved, her shoulders relaxing a little bit as she leaned back into the couch. "But what about the future? You...probably know by now that Kankuro wouldn't ever move out of Suna. Gaara's there...and everything Kankuro knows is there, too. Hell, he's mentioned in passing that he might become a teacher some day. So...where does that leave you?"

The teacher thing was new. Kiba would have to ask Kankuro about that later. He pushed that thought out of mind though, thinking over Temari's words carefully. He thought a lot about this lately to be quite honest. Ever since he came home the thoughts about the future and where he would end up had been circling his mind over and over. And...not really in a suffocating way. More like, they came like the tides. Rising in the middle of the night, or sometimes in the middle of the day, and faded when time passed and left him alone again. The thoughts were just heavy enough to remind him that they were important but not heavy enough to leave him terrified in their presence.

He thought a lot about the future.

"There's...something I've been thinking about." He admitted finally, bringing an awkward hand up to rub at the back of his neck as he exhaled through his nose. He looked back to Temari to take in her thoughtful gaze, inwardly glad that she didn't seem upset. "I have to talk to Kakashi...and my mom and sister, too, before I decide on anything. I can't really give you an answer right now. There's some things I'm taking care of...but I promise you that hurting your brother will never be in my plans. I love him with...all I have. I might not deserve him, but I love him, Temari. I really do."

Temari just smiled and that...well, it sort of took Kiba's breath away. He was sure that he'd come to love Temari like another sister over time. She was a lot like Hana and while that sort of scared Kiba, it also filled him with a joy that he didn't have the words to express. Temari was wonderful and being with Kankuro would mean more time with Temari. Kiba didn't really mind that too much; getting close with Gaara and Temari sort of felt like a dream come true.

At Kiba's side Lee seemed to fully relax. He leaned back into the couch and crossed his arms, smiling softly. "Here I thought you were going to yell at us..."

"You worry too much." Temari snorted, finally grinning brightly. She and Kankuro had the same smile, Kiba noticed. "I wasn't going to yell at you either way. I just wanted you two to be aware that now we're all going to be family one way or another and I'm going to be in your business whenever I can."

"That's fine with me." Kiba assured with a chuckle. "That's how my mom and sister are, anyways. It's not too bad. Besides, it just means we'll all be closer."

"Easy, Dog Breath." Temari smiled around the rim of her tea cup as she took a sip. "You're cute, but you haven't spent a holiday with my brothers and I in the same house yet. You'll regret everything when that day comes."

"I doubt it." Kiba assured her softly.

"It'll be fun!" Lee gasped loudly. He practically had stars in his eyes as he grinned at Kiba so wide, Kiba feared his face would crack. "We'd spend holidays together! That would be lovely!"

Temari snickered from her seat as she stood up, running her fingers through her still damp hair before she set her hand on her hip. "Alright, since you two are here anyways. Wanna help me run some errands? It's my turn to pick up groceries. Shikamaru's making dinner if I do." She smiled at them again. Yeah, she and Kankuro definitely had the same smile.

"I  _hate_ shopping." Kiba groaned but he stood up anyways, inwardly eager to spend some more time with Temari to get in her good graces. Besides. Shopping really wasn't  _that_ bad. Shopping with Temari, his boyfriends older sister that he kind of admired, sounded like a good idea anyways.

They only had to wait a few minutes for Temari to put her hair up before the three of them were making their way out of the house and towards the market place. Kiba was sure they made quite a trio considering how little time they spent together in the past. Not that he minded at all, of course. He didn't have many plans for the day to begin with so going out with Temari and Lee sounded fun and gave him something to do. Despite how long he'd been home by now, Kakashi hadn't really assigned him any missions. Which was fine...but it left him feeling pretty bored. The only thing Kakashi did for him now was call him in when a letter from Suna arrived for him. Kiba was sure both he and Kankuro were abusing Gaara and Kakashi's Kage status by sending their letters with the Kazekage and Hokage's things but Kiba, at least, had good reasoning. He wasn't getting letters from  _just_ Kankuro. Gaara was sending him letters, too, though that was a secret only Gaara, Kakashi, and himself were aware of. For now.

"I don't have to get a lot of things so this shouldn't take too long." Temari told them as they entered the market place. She was already looking around, a content smile on her face. "I've been putting off the big shopping for when Shikamaru's got a whole day free so he can help."

"That's a good plan." Lee agreed with a nod.

"He hates shopping more than anyone I've ever met." Temari shook her head a little bit as she veered them towards the vegetables. "Plus, if I leave him to shop by himself, he comes home with a hundred more things than what we actually needed. He's like a child."

"Yes, but you love him." Kiba reminded her with a small grin. "Besides, that happens to everyone when they shop. Ever shopped with Naruto? He buys way more than he needs to and it's even worse if he's hungry."

"That's why Sasuke does their shopping now." Lee chimed in with a small snort. "He knows better. Usually...I'm sure he caves sometimes because it's Naruto. How can you  _not_  cave?"

"I understand completely." Kiba smiled a little bit, hands shoved deep in his pockets as he watched Temari start to pick out veggies she needed.

This was an incredibly mundane activity but it made Kiba's mind wander a bit. Maybe he was just extremely sentimental lately, too caught up in the slice ache that came with missing Kankuro, but he couldn't help but imagine shopping with Kankuro. They'd done it a few times in Suna but that had all been before they were...together. Kiba could imagine them now, fingers twined as they argued over what they would have for dinner, driving everyone around them crazy. It would be cute, grocery shopping with Kankuro. Buying what they needed...giving each other a playful hard time when they bought more than what they needed, like candy to fuel Kiba's sweet tooth. Shopping was a painfully mundane task...but doing it with Kankuro? Kiba was getting all sweaty just thinking about it.

_Christ, did love feel this good all the time?_

Kiba hoped so.

"Kiba! Lee! Temari!"

Kiba was ripped out of his day dreaming when he heard Naruto's voice and he turned around in time to see the other man rushing up to them, Sasuke in tow. Naruto's grin was wide as he skidded to a stop in front of them, throwing his arms around Kiba in a surprising and warm hug. Kiba blinked, a bit taken back, but couldn't help but smile as he hugged the blonde back, nearly lifting Naruto off his feet. "I haven't seen you at all since I've been back, Naruto!"

"Yeah, I know. Jerk." Naruto giggled into Kiba's shoulder before he took a step back, hands on his hips. "Good to finally see you, though. I heard your trip was...up and down?"

"More up than down, in the end." Kiba assured with a small shrug. Jeez, did news really travel that fast in their friend group?

"Yeah, I heard." Naruto waggled his eyebrows, making Kiba's face heat up a little bit.

He scoffed, shoving the other a little. "Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes. "Don't make fun of me, jerk."

Naruto snickered again before he peered around Kiba's shoulder to look at Temari and Lee, before he met Kiba's eye again. "What're you three up to, huh?"

"Shopping." Lee replied, crossing his arms over his chest as a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Temari enlisted us as her help for it since Shikamaru's still busy until later. What are you and Sasuke up to?"

"Also shopping." Sasuke held up a hand basket filled nearly to the brim with groceries. He smiled a little bit. "Just some things we needed for dinner later. I didn't want to send Naruto out to do it alone. You know how he gets when he shops while hungry."

"I wish I could be offended but you're honestly right." Naruto didn't even look remotely sheepish, grinning widely still. It was cute, honestly. Then again, Naruto was always cute. He looked back at Kiba again. "Are you busy tonight? You should come to dinner if you aren't. Sakura, Ino, and Sai are going to be there, too. You should come."

Kiba blinked in surprise and took a second to rack his brain before he realized he, indeed, didn't have any other plans aside from reading over the letters he'd gotten from Kankuro the past couple of weeks. Maybe...dinner would be a good thing? "Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother or take up too much space if you're already having others over."

"We have more than enough room, Kiba." Sasuke assured with a small smile. "You should come. It's our pleasure. We wanted to do something for you when you got back to Konoha before, anyways. You were just taking time for yourself and we didn't want to pester you." As it's been said before, Sasuke being friendly with him was...still something Kiba was getting used to. It just took him by surprise to see how much Sasuke had changed.

With Sasuke smiling at him like that, an expression Kiba felt really blessed to getting from the Uchiha, it was hard to say no. With a smile and a small, resigned sigh, he nodded. "Alright. I'll come by later this evening, then. I've gotta bathe Akamaru and change before I come over anyways. But I'll be there for sure."

"Awesome!" Naruto slung his arm around Sasuke's waist then, offering a wave to the three of them. "Have a good time shopping then, you guys. See you later, Kiba!"

The three of them watched Naruto lead Sasuke away and Temari chuckled, lifting an arm to rest it on Kiba's shoulder casually. "Honestly, Naruto's too cute for his own good. Sasuke, too."

"That's why they make such a good couple." Lee whispered dramatically, though he had started giggling almost instantly. "They're both so cute that no one can say no to them for anything. It's a real power move, honestly." He nudged Kiba with his elbow. "I'm sure you and Kankuro are  _way_ cuter, though."

"Oh, god." Kiba shoved Lee back, smiling a bit. "You're ridiculous."

"Alright boys." Temari cut in, moving her arm off of Kiba and smiling a bit. "Let's go. These groceries aren't going to get themselves, as much as I wish they would."

Hours later, Kiba found himself making his way towards Naruto and Sasuke's place. His hair was a bit damp because, really, you couldn't bathe Akamaru without bathing yourself, but he figured it wouldn't be too much of a big deal. He didn't smell like wet dog, which was the only thing that mattered, so he wasn't too worried. The walk to Naruto and Sasuke's wasn't very far, either. Sasuke never chose to reclaim the old Uchiha compound for the sake of his own mental health and his emotional healing, deciding to instead live near the center of the village in a small two bedroom home with Naruto. It was nice for the both of them in the end.

Kiba had only been over a handful of times though, despite how long they'd been living there now. Most of their hangouts were at Ino and Sakura's, or sometimes at Temari and Shikamaru's, but most of the time out in public at whichever bar or restaurant caught their eye that night. Going to Naruto's directly usually only happened with small get-togethers, like the one going on now.

He was greeted by Sasuke at the door and had to swallow the lump of awkwardness that welled up in his throat as he smiled a bit. "Hey, Sasuke. I'm...not late, am I?"

"Not at all." Sasuke stepped aside to let Kiba in as a soft smile played on his lips. "Ino, Sai, and Sakura are here already and dinner is almost done. You came just in time, I think."

"Awesome." Kiba toed his shoes off at the door and shoved his hands into his pockets, following Sasuke to the dinning room. Ino and Sakura were there indeed, sipping their own glasses of what Kiba assumed was wine. Naruto didn't keep hard booze in their house; he remembered that better than anything else. Sai was sitting on the other side of Sakura, right next to where Kiba assumed Naruto would be sitting in a bit. Kiba sat down across from Sakura and smiled a bit at the both of them. "Hey, you guys."

"Hey yourself." Ino grinned from where she was leaning back in her chair, her half filled glass held delicately in her hand. "I was worried you weren't going to come after all."

"I couldn't pass up an invitation from Sasuke and Naruto." Kiba assured, watching as Sasuke sat down as well. He moved his gaze to Sai, watching as the other male sipped his own wine cautiously. "Hey, Sai. Been a while since I've seen you around."

Sai blinked in surprise before he smiled brightly, most likely inwardly delighted Kiba was talking to him. "I know. I've been very busy, lately. Naruto and Sasuke caught me right in the middle of my three day break."

Sai spent a lot of time in the ANBU these days. He was pretty high ranked, given his abilities and knowledge of jutsu so it hadn't been a huge surprise to anyone. He just...spent a lot of time on missions. He liked seeing other places and being in nature, he had said, so being in the ANBU was a way for him to both get out and enjoy life, and also take care of the village in a way he felt fit. Seeing him free was sort of a rare sight. Kiba couldn't even stop himself from grinning. "That's great. It's really good to see you."

"It's good to see you as well." Sai flashed him a dazzling smile. Sai had a gorgeous smile when he was smiling with feeling. It actually almost put Naruto's smile to shame. ...Almost. "How has your day been, Kiba?"

"It was...pretty good." Kiba decided, looking over in time to see Sasuke pour a glass of wine and hand it to him. Kiba took it with a small smile and took a sip, before he decided to extend his answer. "I was with Temari and Lee for most of the day, honestly."

"So we heard." Sakura mused, her chin resting in her palm as she arched an elegant eyebrow at him. "So you and Lee finally talked to her, then. How'd that go?"

"Better than Lee and I were expecting." He admitted as he took another sip of his wine. It was a sweet wine, something Naruto must have picked. "She wasn't even really upset. She took it well and didn't try to kill either of us. We're...really chill, honestly. It's kind of nice."

"That's really good." Sasuke murmured from his seat, sipping his own wine and grimacing a bit at it. He never had much of a sweet tooth, after all. He set his glass down and cleared his throat. "She's basically your family now. It's nice that you two are...chill, I guess. I'm sure Kankuro will be happy to hear it."

"Probably. I have a letter to write him tonight so I'll make sure I tell him what happened." Kiba agreed.

"Tell him I said hi!" Naruto's voice chimed in as he strode into the kitchen, setting the food down in the middle of the table. Naruto was, surprisingly, an amazing cook. Just seeing the food he was setting down made Kiba's mouth water. Naruto met Kiba's gaze and grinned again. "You two send letters back and forth like crazy, huh?"

Kiba flushed a little bit. "We do." He admitted, smiling sheepishly as he tried to look anywhere else. "We...use Kakashi and Gaara's Kage seals for them so they go faster...Kakashi lets me!" He added quickly.

"Yeah, we know." Sakura rolled her eyes as an amused smile played on her lips. "I saw him mailing your letter yesterday when I was in the office. That's a horrible misuse of his power." She scolded him, leaning forward to start making her own plate. "That being said, it's also incredibly cute and you two are adorable. I'm still really happy for you."

"I always knew the two of you would end up together." Sai said casually, his smile widening when Kiba looked in his direction. "Kankuro was smitten with you for so long. I always knew something would happen."

Kiba really wanted to know how he could have been so blind.  _Everyone_ had known Kankuro was head over heels for him for ages, now. Although, he was sure that the self doubt and his lack of self confidence had been a huge factor in it. Which made sense. A lot of sense, actually. He just kind of hated knowing he had been so clueless for so long.

"Did she ask you about your plans for the future?" Ino asked him as she started making her plate, too. "She was saying something about wanting to know what your intentions were and all of that."

"Yeah, she asked." Kiba replied,slapping a few slabs of meat onto his plate. "I couldn't really give her an answer right away, though. I don't have it all...figured out yet."

"What do you mean?" Naruto plopped down next to Sasuke, plate already made and piled high with food. His expression was a bit perplexed, though. "Like...you don't know where you want your relationship to go?"

"No, no...I do know." Kiba assured, feeling awkward all over again with all of their curious gazes on him. "I know where I want it to go. I just...I haven't finished everything yet. Can I tell you guys something without it getting out to anyone else?"

Sakura sat up a little straighter, curious and cautious all in one. "Yeah, of course." She was always quite the gossip, honestly.

"We won't tell a single soul." Sai assured softly, looking over joyed to be involved in this secret conversation. It was...kind of cute. Really cute.

Kiba knew they wouldn't. All of his friends were awful gossips but, luckily, they could all be trusted with a secret. Kiba took his time making his plate though first, sitting back in his seat afterwards and taking a long drink of his wine. When he set his glass back down, he sighed heavily and took a second to find the right words. "I think I'm going to move to Suna."

He'd been thinking it for days, now. Actually, he'd been thinking about it ever since the day he came home and his mom had made the comment about it. Saying it out loud though, after thinking on it for so long and talking to Kakashi and Gaara in private about it, it felt...strange. And nice. But also scary. However, the lack of outrage on the faces around him was helpful and made him less anxious. The others looked surprised yet content with his answer, as if they'd been secretly wondering if he'd do something like this in the first place. They knew him well. They knew he was a down to earth guy and that no matter how hard he tried, change was something he didn't get along with right away.

"You're going to move to Suna, huh?" Naruto murmured softly, popping some broccoli into his mouth and chewing slowly. "That's a big step, Kiba."

"I know it is." Kiba murmured, chewing his lip anxiously.

Naruto smiled a bit. "Been thinking about it a while?" He asked him, his smile soft and knowing. Damn Naruto for being so smart.

"Yeah, I have." Kiba replied, taking a steadying breath. "I've talked to Kakashi about it when I dropped off some letters before...and I've been sending letters to Gaara, too. I'm...basically just waiting on the letter from Gaara saying my dual citizenship was approved. Kakashi already approved on this end. I've just been...hesitant to really say anything. Change is...weird for me."

"It's good, though." Sakura offered softly, her foot nudging his under the table. "Just...your dad's there in Suna. That doesn't bother you?" She asked him, her concern for Kiba written all over her face.

"It...does a little." Kiba admitted. "But...I love Kankuro more than I hate my father. So I can learn to live with the fact that he's there."

"That's really good." Sasuke murmured softly. He had a more serene expression on his face as he moved the food around on his plate with a fork. "What about your mother and sister? Have you told them yet?"

Kiba shook his head, glancing back down at his own plate. "Not yet. I mean, I don't think they'd be angry. My mom already made a comment before about how it wouldn't be an issue if I wanted to go live with Kankuro. It's just...I mean.." He frowned, struggling to find his words. "I-"

"You've been with just your mom and sister for so long that you're afraid of what leaving means for the three of you." Ino cut in gently and when Kiba looked up at her, her smile was a sad one. She sighed and drank the last of her wine and carefully set the glass down. "It's normal to be afraid of these things...and to worry about your sister and your mother. They love you a lot, you know? You living in Suna will be hard for all of you for a while...but it'll get easier. It's not like you'll be alone in Suna. You'll have Kankuro, Gaara, and Lee. And here in Konoha, your mom will still have your sister and everyone else. It'll be okay. You can't let the fact that you're scared stop you from moving into the next part of your life."

Kiba appreciated Ino's words. They calmed something nasty in his core and made it feel a little easier to breathe. She was right too, he knew. He couldn't let his anxieties get in the way of his life, not any more. His fears couldn't keep holding him back. Hell, that whole trip to Suna had been about over coming fears in the first place. And it...felt good. It felt right to be there in Suna, over coming all of his problems with Kankuro by his side. It felt natural to hold Kankuro's hand and help him through his own problems.

Moving sounded...scary and hard, but it felt... _right_ in his heart. That was what mattered above anything else.

Kiba finally cracked a small smile at Ino, nodding slowly. "Thanks for that. You're right. I'm going to tell Mom and Hana tonight. But remember, you guys can't tell anyone yet. I still have to talk to Lee and...when Kankuro comes with Gaara to the wedding I'm going to tell him then."

"Speaking of the wedding," Naruto chimed in suddenly, eyes widening. "Originally we had you sitting with Shino and Hinata, but would you rather sit with Kankuro? You can sit where Temari and Gaara and Kankuro are assigned or we can move Kankuro."

Kiba blinked in surprise. Right. Weddings had  _rules_  and  _assigned seating_. "Uh...you know, can you keep both options open and I'll just...let Ino know when Kankuro and I get there?"

"Of course!" Naruto giggled, nodding. "That sounds fine. Don't stress on it."

The rest of the dinner went well. Sakura and Ino had left tipsy, giggling softly as they walked home hand in hand. It was cute. Kiba really liked watching them together and sort of hoped he and Kankuro looked that cute together in the future, too. Maybe they already did look that cute? Yeah. Kiba was tipsy enough to believe that. Sai was sleeping over at Naruto and Sasuke's for the night, too tipsy to make his own trip across the village to his apartment, and he was already passed out on the couch by the time Kiba was pulling his shoes on at the door. Naruto was standing by the open door, cheeks flushed from the wine and his hands shoved deep in his pockets as he enjoyed the night time breeze that blew in.

"Thanks for coming by, Kiba." Those blue eyes were turned on him when Kiba looked up, surprising him, and Naruto smiled softly. "It's good to hang out with you. I miss doing it."

Kiba smiled a little bit as he stood up, a little irritated at the way the room spun. Maybe he was a little more tipsy than he thought, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. "Me too. It's nice. Thanks for inviting me, Naruto."

"No problem." Naruto murmured and step aside to let Kiba out, leaning on wall and eyeing the Inuzuka with a softer sort of smile. "We're going to have to throw you and Lee a farewell party, you know. Maybe the night after my wedding."

Kiba blinked in surprise, caught off guard and...honestly a little touched. Maybe more than a  _little_  touched. "What? No way. You've got a honey moon after your wedding."

"Not until like a whole week after the wedding!" Naruto snorted, waving a hand in dismissal. "We're gonna throw you guys a farewell party. We're going to miss you guys when you leave, you know? We've all been together since we were teenagers." His blue eyes drifted down to gaze at the floor as he shuffled on his feet a bit. "You gotta come visit as often as you can though, alright?"

Ah, right. How could Kiba forget just how deeply Naruto's love for his friends ran? Naruto had come a long way over the years and over came a lot of his anxieties and fears, but the thought of friends drifting away from him...well, apparently it still scared him. Kiba could understand that fear well and he almost felt sad that he made Naruto feel like that...but they were adults that were capable of speaking their minds without starting fights, now. The fact that Naruto had told him this at all was a good sign. Kiba was proud of him.

He was stepping closer to the blond before he could really register his own movements, sliding his arms around him in a hug. It'd been a while since they hugged and it showed in the way Naruto stiffened in surprise, but only for a moment. Naruto was hugging him back eagerly just a moment later, sighing softly into Kiba's shoulder. It was kind of bittersweet, really. Kiba was sure that his younger self would have self imploded but now that he was an adult, one that valued Naruto's friendship over anything else, he was just...incredibly happy. Content. "I'll visit as much as I can, I promise. How can I not?"

"Good." Naruto stepped back and nodded, sighing a bit. "Walk home safely, Kiba. See you around."

"Yeah, see you around." Kiba offered one more final wave before he turned on his heel and headed down the road.

All the wine had him feeling pleasantly warm in the slightly chilly night air. He was glad he didn't drink too much and could still get home by himself. He always felt kind of bad when he had to be escorted home drunk; his mother always chewed him out for it, too. Which...well, she had every right to do. He tried not to get that drunk too often and when he did, he tried to crash at other people's houses as often as possible. It was less of a chore, honestly.

The village was still pretty lively, despite the time. Shops were loud with the sounds of laughter and yelling, while music poured out of other shops further down the street. Konoha was actually really pretty at night when everything was illuminated and bright. Although Kiba would admit that Suna was just as nice at night, with their shops lit up and their people just as lively and happy. The number of times he found himself thinking about Suna since he'd been home was almost alarming but it had been what really made him realize maybe moving wouldn't be...that bad. He loved Suna. He loved the people. He loved the lifestyle. It was different, sure, but it was nice. The people were strong in a way Kiba really admired. They were smart. They were wonderful.

Living in Suna sounded like something he would love. Kankuro being there was a bonus, of course. A big, handsome bonus...

"God, I'm a sap." He breathed out loud, looking up at the sky. The stars were dotting the expanse of the sky above him, making him think about Hinata again. He'd miss his team a lot when he moved, without a doubt. He was so used to seeing them almost all the time. Now that they were older they didn't spend every single day together, sure, but they still saw each other as often as possible. Now, though...he was going to miss out on a lot. Not that it was going to change his decision in the long run. He knew Shino and Hinata would never forgive him for letting them be what kept him out of Kankuro's reach.

God, Kiba had damn good friends.

Home came quickly, Kiba shutting the door with a little more force than necessary by accident. He winced, hearing the sink in the kitchen shut off followed by his sister's voice, "Kiba, are you home?"

"Yeah, Hana!" He called back as he toed his shoes off by the door. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it on a hook on the wall, making his way to the kitchen. Hana was wiping down the counter when he walked in and she glanced up at him, making him smile a little as he leaned on the door frame. "Where's Mom?"

"Putting some of the dogs into kennels." She replied. "We brought a few from the clinic that are still in pretty bad shape home so we could keep an eye on them tonight."

Kiba nodded slowly, eyes following his sister as she went about her business cleaning. It was sort of funny, because domestic tasks had never been Hana's strong point. But it calmed her, it seemed. She preferred being out with the dogs though, and Kiba knew she would be up all night in the kennels to keep an eye on those dogs they brought home. The swell of pride that rose in Kiba's chest made him bite his lip. "Hey, Hana?"

"Yeah?" She asked as she rung her washcloth out in the sink.

"Can you teach me medical jutsu?"

Hana looked at him so quickly, Kiba was worried she'd give herself whiplash. But where he expected confusion and hesitation on his sister's face he saw only joy, like she'd been  _waiting_ for him to ask her that. "Of course. For animals, right?"

"Yeah...the basics are kinda the same for animals and humans, right?" He knew a little bit of the basics when it came to humans. Small things here and there and how to heal wounds that weren't fatal. But he didn't really know where to start when it came to healing animals, like dogs or cats. At least, not bigger wounds. A scrape or a cut, sure...but broken bones? Gaping wounds? He didn't know what to do. That was Hana's specialty, and Kiba was starting to kick himself in the ass for not asking her to teach him these things sooner. But he could learn now, and study more once he moved to Suna.

"It's...sorta the same, yeah." Hana replied finally, a side ways smile on her face. "The chakra pathways are different in animals compared to humans, but I'll teach you all the basics and how to heal more major injuries." she assured, grinning, before her expression finally melded into one of curiosity. "What makes you want to know how to do it now?"

Kiba hesitated. "I'll...explain when Mom comes in. Okay? I've...sorta got something to talk to you two about."

Hana blinked at him, frowning slowly. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I...think I'm great, actually." He admitted. And really, he was sure he did feel great. Aside from his nerves and the anxiety, just knowing what he was doing and having the support he already had for it...it was such a relief. Imagining the look on Kankuro's face when Kiba told him, too...that helped a lot.

There was a bit of a tense silence that followed while Hana cleaned the rest of the kitchen and Kiba sat at the table, the both of them waiting for their mother. He was sure Hana was over worrying about him but there wasn't much he could say to fix it right now, not without giving away what he wanted to tell them both. He sorta felt bad for making his sister worry but he knew it would be fixed very soon. Hopefully, at least.

Tsume finally came in after what felt like ages, dusting her hands off on her pants. "Dogs are all finally in bed." She declared as she looked up, her grin widening when she saw Kiba. "Welcome home. Have fun over at Naruto's?"

"Yeah, lot's of fun." He assured her, propping his chin in his hand.

"Kiba wanted to talk to us about something." Hana chimed in after a second, making no attempt to hide how anxious she was to find out what Kiba had to say.

"Oh?" Tsume cocked her head as she pulled a chair out and sat down, crossing her arms. "And what is it you wanted to talk to us about, Kiba?"

Kiba eyed the both of them; Tsume sitting across from him and Hana still standing beside their seated mother. A small part of himself was begging to forget it, but this was important. And he wanted his mom and sister to be a part of all his important life choices. "I think I'm going to move to Suna."

Surprise flickered on Tsume's face for a brief moment, before she schooled her expression into something more content. She hummed softly, letting the words sink in, while Hana scoffed softly at her side.

"You had me worried something was wrong." Hana breathed, a hand coming up to tug her hair free of it's ponytail. She shook it out a bit and ran her fingers through it, before she tugged her rubber band onto her wrist. "Is that why you want me to teach you medical jutsu? So you can work with animals over in Suna?"

"Well that, and because it's just...handy to know that kind of stuff." Kiba admitted to her, a soft smile on his lips. "But...I mean Suna doesn't have any dog-nin...and if I move there I could...I don't know. Teach others. Like Itaru's daughter. I can teach her to train and learn alongside her dog. I can...help her and teach people what we know. But to do that I...want to know veterinary medical jutsu, too...so I know all of it and can help other people, too. You don't even have to teach me everything just...enough to get me started so I can keep going on my own."

Hana listened to him, a soft smile on her lips like she understood. And, really, she most likely did. She nodded slowly, looking thoughtful as she crossed her arms. "I can do that, then. It's a good idea." She glanced at their mother, who had yet to say anything at all, and bit her lip a little. "What...do you think, Mom? About Kiba's news, I mean."

Tsume shrugged a bit as she sat up more, eyeing Kiba for a second longer. "I think it's...surprising that you're ready to move to Suna so soon. You want to move to be with Kankuro, right? Not just to live your dream of working with dogs?"

"Of course; Kankuro's the main focus of...all of this." Kiba replied. He shifted a little under his mom's gaze, unsure of what her expression really meant. She didn't look...angry. But happy wasn't something Kiba would call it, either. "You're not...upset that I want to move, are you? Because you made that comment before-"

"I'm not upset about  _anything_." Tsume cut in with a sharp shake of her head. "I'm more...worried, I guess. As your mother." She clarified, carding a hand through her hair quickly. "It just hasn't been a long time since you've been dating him. A handful of weeks, at most...regardless of how many long winded letters you send each other. And I know how  _you_ are with change, Kiba. This is a big step...and while you can still always come back here, I don't want you to...dive head first into this if you aren't ready-"

"I  _am_  ready." Kiba hardly ever cut his mother off. Maybe only a few times in his entire life had he done it. He paused at his mom's mildly surprised look, but forced himself to continue, clenching and unclenching his fists. "I know he and I have only been dating for a little while...but Mom, I've known him since I was a kid. He saved my life. It's not like...I barely know him. We spent a lot of time together over the years...he gets me. He...hell, he knows me more than I know myself, I think. I know it's a big step. I've...been stressing about it for a while. But I've talked to The Kazekage and The Hokage...it's all okay. I'm going to get dual citizenship...I'm going to...do something with my life. I finally know what I want to do with my life and...Kankuro has to be a part of it. Or else it isn't worth anything to me."

Naturally, saying these things to his mom was a little embarrassing...but it got his point across. They started at each other, gazes never wavering once as Tsume seemed to let his words mull around in her head. Kiba knew that as a mother there were things she was going to worry over for...well, probably forever. That's what moms did. But he needed her to know that he wanted to do this and that he was going to be okay.

He needed her to know that this wasn't like with her and his father. This...this was going to be  _different_. This was going to last.

It felt like ages when Tsume finally sighed, but when she stood up and Kiba was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that he had made her angry. But then she walked around the table towards him and Kiba turned in his chair, opening his mouth to ask her what was wrong, only to have his mother's arms wrap around him and pull him into a hug. A slightly awkward hug, given he was sitting down, but a hug was always welcomed when it came from his mother. He felt his mother exhale slowly, one of her hands stroking through his hair.

"If you want to move to Suna, then okay. I want you to be happy, Kiba." She murmured softly. "But this is always home for you...and if that boy breaks your heart I'm going to break  _him,_ got it?"

Kiba cracked a small smile, winding his arms around his mom carefully. "Yeah, I got it. I'll make sure he knows."

"Oh, I'll make sure he knows." Tsume assured, snorting softly. "He's still gotta get through your sister and I when he rolls into town. He isn't getting out of that."

Yeah, poor Kankuro.

Tsume wasn't angry, though, and neither was Hana which was...the best sign Kiba could have asked for. That was one more stress factor to finally toss off of his shoulders, leaving just the more official parts to deal with. Waiting for Gaara's confirmation letter and getting the final okay from Kakashi. Then once that happened all he had to do was wait for Kankuro to roll back into town and...go from there.

They didn't spend much more time on the topic after that, though. Kiba helped Hana finish up the kitchen as their mom retired to bed, before taking a shower and going to sleep himself. He felt lighter now. And finally, he was breathing a little easier.

* * *

Sakura sat at the hokage desk, shuffling some papers around as Kakashi watched over her shoulder. It had been a bit of a surprise to see her in the office when Kiba walked in but with her inauguration on the horizon, he supposed her spending even more time in the office and doing work wasn't too strange. Besides, she looked pretty good behind the desk, sitting up straight and pausing to look over the documents Gaara had mailed for Kiba to pick up. At first her expression was blank as her eyes roamed over the words and Kiba, always patient, casually shifted on his feet and glanced at Kakashi. Even though his mask hid most of his face, Kiba could see the pride in his gaze as he watched Sakura at work. Like a proud father. It was sweet.

"Well then, Kiba." Sakura looked up with a smile, jolting Kiba from his thoughts. She slid the small stack of papers across the desk to him before she folded her hands in her lap. "It's all official. Kakashi already approved of the request on this end and Gaara sent the confirmation on his part. You officially now hold dual citizenship in both Konoha and Suna."

Kiba's lips tugged into a small smile as he pulled the papers to himself, looking them over quickly. Sure enough, Gaara's signature sealed the deal. Finally. He made a mental note to write a letter tonight to the Kazekage to thank him and remind him not to say a  _word_ to Kankuro. He looked back to Sakura and grinned wider. "Perfect. Thank you." He looked at Kakashi. "And thank you too, Kakashi."

"It was my pleasure." Kakashi waved the praise off casually and stretched his arms above his head. Sakura and Kiba both winced at the way the older man's back popped and cracked. "I hope Suna treats you well when you go, Kiba."

"I'm sure it will." Kiba promised. "I've already been training with my sister, so I think by the time I go I'll be pretty well prepared."

"You're medical training, right?" Sakura asked him, propping her chin in her hand as she smiled at him. "It's nice to know that stuff. I'm kind of eager to see how far you get with it in Suna."

"I'll never be as good as Hana is with the veterinary aspect of it." Kiba admitted sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders a little bit. "But just knowing the basics and having a starting point helps a lot. Hana's taught me a lot already and aside from the chakra pathways and some other things, it isn't that different from human-based medical jutsu. If I was focusing more on human-based things I would have asked you for help, of course."

"I'm afraid I probably wouldn't have had a lot of time to teach you." Sakura admitted with an apologetic smile. "With all the things going on right now keeping me busy, I would have been an awful teacher. Though in the future when you visit or I visit Suna, I'd be more than happy to teach you a thing or two."

"I'll keep that in mind." Kiba assured, nodding. "You're going to be busy up until the wedding, huh?"

"She will be." Kakashi nodded from the side, hands shoved deep into his pockets. "There's a lot to be done in such a small amount of time."

"But just think, in a few weeks Naruto and Sasuke will be married and I'll be Hokage." Sakura gushed softly, before her expression softened as she smiled at Kiba. "And you and Lee will be living in Suna with the people you love. It's like we're all finally growing up."

"You're a lot more sentimental these days, you know that?" Kiba teased, but Sakura's words made him want to smile. He glanced at the papers in his hand again before he smiled and stood up. "But you're right. We're all growing up, I guess. It's...really fucking nice, honestly."

"It is." Sakura agreed with a nod. She leaned back in the chair, stretching her arms up above her head. "Have you told Lee you're leaving with him yet? None of us have told anyone yet since you didn't want us to so I haven't been able to ask Lee what he thought about it."

"I haven't, but I'm going to now." Kiba replied as he stood up. "I actually just haven't seen him in a few days. Being busy with Hana kind of made it hard to see anyone, lately."

"Don't overwork yourself now, Kiba." Kakashi chimed in as she strode across the office to open the door for Kiba. Behind his mask, Kiba was sure the man was smirking slyly. "Your boyfriends supposed to be here soon and I'm sure he's going to want to tire you out, too-"

" _Kakashi_." Sakura sighed loudly. "Stop being gross."

"Can't do that. When I see a chance to tease you kids, I'm taking it. I'm not getting any younger, you know." The man replied giddily.

Kiba snorted softly and shook his head as he made his way out of the office, hearing the door close behind him. With his papers tucked carefully under his arm he made his way out of the hokage building, squinting a bit at the sunlight. Lately, it was a lot hotter than usual in Konoha and while everyone else was complaining about the heat Kiba found himself  _thriving_ in it. It reminded him of Suna which filled him with both longing and a content kind of joy. He was sure that if he spoke about Suna as much as he  _thought_ about it he'd be on almost everyone's nerves.

Luckily, he kept most thoughts to himself.

When he came home he blinked in surprise at the sight of a new pair of shoes by the door, shoes that smelled like Lee. Well, at least now he wouldn't have to go looking for the other. But why was Lee at his house in the middle of the afternoon? Lee...never came over. Ever. In fact Kiba could really only recall one singular time Lee had been over and that was ages ago.

Kiba felt anxious suddenly but he forced the feeling down, kicking his shoes off and making his way to his room to put his papers away. He carefully set the papers on his desk right next to the pile of letters from Kankuro. He paused to eye the letters, a small smile on his face at the sight of Kankuro's elegant, yet rushed hand writing. It always looked like Kankuro was rushing when he sent him letters, like he couldn't contain his energy and had so much to say to Kiba. It always made Kiba grin whenever he opened each new letter.

One sentence in particular stood out to him now, on the letter he'd received just the day before.

_"If I knew I was going to miss you this much I wouldn't have let you leave, honestly."_

The fist time Kiba had read that sentence his heart had skipped a beat as he felt his face burn hot. But the more he read it the more his heart ached with the need to just  _be_ near Kankuro. To hold him and hug him and tell him he wasn't going to be leaving again any time soon. He constantly had to remind himself that he could do all of that soon...very soon.

He left his room and made his way to the backyard, pausing in the door way to arch an eyebrow at the scene before him. Lee was sitting in the grass next to Hana, brushing out Akamaru's fur while Akamaru's remaining pups slept soundly nearby, tired out. Seeing Lee in his backyard was...a bit of a strange sight. Lee sort of looked out of place in his backyard but it was...also sort of nice, in a way.

Lee looked up as Kiba walked over, grinning a little bit. "Hi, Kiba! I came by to see you but Hana said you were with Kakashi. So I waited here for you."

"Akamaru's pups absolutely adored him." Hana chimed in, pushing some stray hair from her face. She had scrolls and some books spread out around her, the same things she used when she tutored Kiba. "He ran around with them and tired them out. He's quite a dog person."

Kiba plopped down across from them, reaching out to stroke along Akamaru's back. "That's cool." He looked at Lee. "Did you come looking for me for anything specific?"

"Yeah, actually. I did." Lee ran the brush along Akamaru's side one more time before he set it aside entirely, fixing Kiba with a more thoughtful, content expression. "I wanted to tell you that Gaara told me about your plans. The moving plans, I mean."

Kiba paused for a split second, before he was back to stroking Akamaru gently. Slowly, he nodded. "Yeah, I sorta figured he would at some point."

"What you said to Temari makes a lot of sense now." Lee murmured, idly tugging at the grass below them. "I'm...kind of glad you're doing this, if I'm being perfectly honest. I was really intimidated by the thought of moving to Suna on my own."

Kiba's eyebrows rose in surprise, his hand that was stroking Akamaru faltering. "You were?"

Lee nodded, looking hesitant as he cleared his throat. "I didn't mind because...marrying Gaara was everything I wanted. But going to Suna and...essentially starting over there...without any of you guys...it was quite intimidating to think about. But if you're going too then it'll be easier, I think. We can start over together."

"Yeah...I agree with that." Kiba's lips twitched into a small smile. "It'll make the adjustment period a little easier with us there together. So I understand what you mean. I was going to tell you the next time I saw you but it totally slipped my mind that Gaara would most likely tell you instead."

Lee shrugged. "I would have acted surprised, if you wanted me to."

"Aren't you sweet?"

"The  _sweetest_."

"Oh yeah, totally." Kiba snorted softly and shook his head, watching as Akamaru stretched out between them with a loud huff.

"Are all four of you going to be living in the same home?" Hana asked them, startling the both of them. When they looked over at her, a little confused, she rolled her eyes and closed one of the books she was looking through. "Gaara and Kankuro both live together in the Kazekage household. Are all four of you going to stay there once you two move?"

"I think that's the plan for now." Lee told her with a rather energetic nod. "For a little while at least. We'll live together since there's room. But if anyone wants to move in the future to their own home in Suna, that'll be open as an option too. Gaara just thinks the four of us together will be easier until Kiba and I get a more settled routine in and figure out what we want to do."

"Not that the four of us living together will even be hard." Kiba added with a small scoff. "We all get along just fine. I think it would be nice, either way."

"Definitely!" Lee grinned. "The more the merrier, I think. Plus we'll have Akamaru, too, which makes it even better."

Akamaru lifted his head to bark, tail wagging happily. Kiba cracked another smile and chuckled softly. "Yeah, that's true." He agreed, looking back at his sister. "Do you want to do more lessons today?"

"Yeah, I have some more things to show you." Hana replied, gesturing to the scrolls and books scattered around her. She rolled her shoulders in a small shrug. "It won't be all day long, though. I actually asked Lee if he wanted to stay for dinner and since he said yes, I don't think he's going to want to sit and watch me teach you medical jutsu all afternoon-"

"I actually don't mind that." Lee interrupted quickly, grinning once again. Actually...did he ever not grin? It would be too out of character for Lee to never smile. He shifted closer, hands coming down to gently grip at Akamaru's fur. "You and Kiba can practice medical jutsu all you want. I'll brush out Akamaru and watch. I really don't mind; I like watching people learn and do new things."

Kiba wasn't really sure if he'd do very good with Lee watching him learn but he wasn't about to send Lee home. Not when they were bonding and would be sharing a home in the very near future. So as he watched Lee go back to brushing out Akamaru's fur, Kiba smiled softly and scooted towards his sister and shrugged off his jacket. "Alright, teach me all you know today, Sis."

Hana and Kiba studied until the sun was setting, and the whole time Lee kept Akamaru and the pups active and busy playing around in the grass. It was comforting in a way, and when the three of them trudged in for dinner Kiba threw his arm around Lee's shoulders and grinned a bit. "It's gonna be pretty late once we all finish dinner. Do you wanna sleep over?"

Lee's smile lit up his face in a way that made Kiba feel like he was on top of the world.

**Author's Note:**

> You made it! Good job! Okay like I said, there's one more part for this story. It's mostly all the way written, it just needs a few more paragraphs and some editing and stuff. I'll try to get it up soon if I can, so thanks in advance for your patience yet again.
> 
> You can come yell at me on my [Tumblr](http://http://my-tatteredwingsof-freedom.tumblr.com//LINK)


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